


when you're smiling (the whole world smiles at you)

by lovesaudade



Category: Monsta X (Band)
Genre: Established Relationship, Fluff, How Do I Tag, M/M, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Smile, Sweet, a whole lot of kihyun just adoring minhyuk, because kihyuk rise
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-05
Updated: 2017-12-05
Packaged: 2019-02-11 01:12:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,598
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12924144
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lovesaudade/pseuds/lovesaudade
Summary: three instances when kihyun makes minhyuk smile because that's kihyun's favorite thing to do.





	when you're smiling (the whole world smiles at you)

**Author's Note:**

> the kihyuk tag needs to be fed and i will not just stand still and let it starve, hence this short and sweet little piece of fluff~
> 
> (please don't hit me, i know i need to update my other hh fic but kihyuk won't! leave! my! mind!)

_1\. Kihyun adores Minhyuk’s smile and general happiness when the older showers him with affection._

 

The younger is known for actively pulling out cute antics and directing them at his other members and their fans, even if he gets cringes and a jab on the shoulder as a response for them.

But he bares with everything if it makes Minhyuk glow in happiness. Kihyun would go as lowering his pride to the ground in order to have his Minhyuk never be sad.

It happens during the free time they have in between their daily schedules. The two were lounging in their dorm’s living room, their attention was on their respective devices.

Kihyun was scrolling through twitter, occasionally smiling at their fan’s tweets of some fanart and even videos of their past interviews. Other times his eyes flicker towards his couch mate.

Minhyuk was playing his usual games on his phone, biting his lower lip in concentration.

The younger slowly shifts his attention from his phone to the newly dyed dark blue-haired boy. Deeming that Minhyuk’s gaming faces and noises were much more entertaining, Kihyun pockets his phone and slides right next to the older member.

Minhyuk shoots Kihyun a quick grin and tickles him under the chin before going back to his game. Kihyun lays his head on the older’s shoulder, crossing his arms while watching Minhyuk finish yet another round. The corner of his lips tugs up when he hears Minhyuk humming happily, excited about his victory.

They stay in their cozy position, both thoroughly entertained at the game on Minhyuk’s phone. Kihyun gets into it more than he expected as he finds himself cheering when Minhyuk beats an enemy and sighs in exasperation when Minhyuk’s character almost dies.

Half an hour passes and Minhyuk was on the final boss level, Kihyun staring in anticipation while he shifts around a bit to rest his chin on the older’s shoulder. After a few minutes of Minhyuk’s character of going back and forth, the little man on the screen suffers and falls on the floor, signaling that he failed to beat the boss.

Kihyun carefully watches Minhyuk’s reaction, instantly frowning when he saw hurt eyes and a disappointed frown. He wants to tell the older that it was just a game, that he didn’t need to feel that bad about it. But he holds back his words, figuring that that might not be the best way to cheer up Minhyuk.

Even with the smallest of losses, he knows that Minhyuk takes everything to heart—and that includes video games. He can tell that Minhyuk hates it when he fails at something he’s supposedly good at.

So, he thinks of something better. It’s stupider, but better. Cuter even.

Kihyun quickly grabs the older’s phone from his grasp and pockets it as well.

“Hey, give back my phone!” Minhyuk reaches out towards Kihyun, ready to invade the latter’s personal space to get his phone back.

But Kihyun was having none of that. Shaking his head in what he hopes to be in an adorable way, he lurches his body forward so that he was sitting on Minhyuk’s lap, one arm resting on his stomach and the other grips the lower part of Minhyuk’s shirt.

The older raises an eyebrow at the younger’s antics. “Ki, what are you doing?”

“Shut up, I’m trying to cheer you up.”.

“By acting like a child? Like a baby, actually.”

Kihyun buries his face on the older’s chest, nodding shyly but firmly. He smiles against Minhyuk’s clothes when he hears the latter laugh.

“I mean, I know we're together and all, but you rarely act this childish. This is usually the time when you point out that we're just days apart in age.” Minhyuk points out, amusement evident in his voice.

Kihyun pictures the light gleam in Minhyuk’s eyes and the silliness in his smile, and lifts his head to see exactly that. It puts Kihyun’s heart at ease when he successfully brightens Minhyuk’s mood.

“Hey, I am an adult. I can make my own adult choices you know, it just so happens that I choose to act like I'm actually younger than you.”

Kihyun couldn’t control his own smile when Minhyuk lets out another gleeful laugh.

“Ki, my love.” Minhyuk says fondly, ruffling the younger’s honey blond locks.

Kihyun rests his head on Minhyuk’s chest once again, snuggling closer to the hand that was petting his hair. He makes sure to graze his lips over Minhyuk’s clothed heart while he was at it. He retrieves his own phone from his pocket, unlocking it and quickly opening his camera.

“Let's take a selca!”

“Why? You wanna post one?”

“Do I have to? Why can’t I just have a selca with my favorite boyfriend?” He pouts for extra cuteness.

Kihyun feels a soft thump on his head. He looks up and sees Minhyuk’s face in playful disbelief.

“You are so weird. Is this my karma for always treating you like a baby?”

“Possibly." Kihyun deadpans for a quick second before going back into the character, letting out a childish whimper.

If this was what it takes for Minhyuk to be happy, then Kihyun could endure all this cute shit for him.

 

 

 

_2. Kihyun loves to compliment everything about Minhyuk—especially his smile—because he deserves it._

 

He was always known to be a smooth talker by his group and their fans. Like a true sweetheart, he charms everyone with his words with nothing but kindness in his intentions. Kihyun is a full believer on the importance of self-love—he wants everyone to love themselves as much as he loves them, if not more.

He does this a lot to Minhyuk. Being with him for quite a few years, majority of it spent as best friends before being in a relationship, he is aware that underneath that joyful, confident bravado lies an insecure little boy who strives for bettering himself for others foremost before himself.

And as his close friend and lover, one of Kihyun’s goals in life is to have Minhyuk realize that he is perfectly wonderful the way he is and should appreciate that, regardless of what other people say.

He gets a chance at this one night when the group is currently staying overseas. They have a scheduled fanmeet and photoshoot for the next few days, but today was a rest day. Minhyuk has been a tease on their twitter account while they were out on a sightseeing tour. He was posting about how he has a “small but special surprise with his mysterious roommate” later tonight, which turns out to be a vlive with Kihyun.

He didn’t mind that Minhyuk was making plans without his knowledge, it was for their fans after all.

Though the day was tiring, Minhyuk is still buzzing with excitement. Kihyun notices that the other was really looking forward to this, eager to talk about all the things they did. And Kihyun’s glad that he gets to be in another vlive with the energetic boy.

Now back at their hotel room, Kihyun sits next to Minhyuk on the latter’s bed. He brings up the comfy blanket while crossing his legs underneath as his roommate props up a little stand where the company phone is placed on top of a few pillows.

“It’s gonna fall, you know.” Kihyun comments, teasing his boyfriend.

“You have so little faith in me!” At that moment, the phone topples over and lands right where Kihyun’s knee is.

Minhyuk pouts. “Say nothing.”

Kihyun snickers before handing the phone again to Minhyuk. “Nothing.”

With an exaggerated eye roll, Minhyuk sets up the phone again, this time with no trouble at all. He quickly runs a hand through his hair before tapping the screen, going live after a few seconds.

The two greets their fans before Minhyuk launches into story mode. He goes on to talk about every detail he can remember from today’s activities, from what they ate for lunch to how Kihyun’s cotton candy got attacked by pigeons.

Kihyun would occasionally insert a few sentences in but mostly nods and agrees at whatever Minhyuk shares. Kihyun glances at his roommate every now and then, smiling at how it was such a sight for him to see the other talk so animatedly and passionately.

“Guys, keep asking some questions!”

Kihyun snaps out of his daze and refocuses his attention on the vlive. He notices Minhyuk leaning forward at the screen and scrolling through the comments with his fingertip. He sees Minhyuk’s scrunched up eyebrows and his lips were pursed in determination, a completely different look from just a few minutes ago.

Silence fills the air as both members eyes through the comments, not really finding any questions they could answer.

“’Where is Hyungwon oppa?’” Minhyuk mumbles, but Kihyun hears him clearly. “Hyungwon is rooming with I.M, guys! Should I go get him? Oh, but he must be tucked in bed by now…”

Minhyuk reads out another comment. “’You guys should do more vlives with the others, it’s more fun that way!’”

Kihyun doesn’t miss the slight frown Minhyuk shows but he quickly replaces it with a strained smile. “We’ll try to have one soon, okay? Please wait a little longer!”

Kihyun chews on his bottom lip, noticing the drop in Minhyuk’s tone. He glances at the other and sees his eyes shifting faster than normal at the phone’s screen. It’s a tell-tale sign that Minhyuk is getting nervous, specifically becoming unsure about himself. Kihyun could practically hear the other’s insecure thoughts about how he was—yet again—not enough for their fans.

Kihyun places a warm hand over Minhyuk’s bare knee under the blanket they were sharing and squeezes it in comfort. There was no way he’ll let the vlive go on like this. He takes matters into his own hands.

“Yah, why are you asking about the others when our lovely sunshine is right here?” Kihyun looks straight at the phone’s lens as he adorns an exaggerated, disappointed look on his face. But he knows that his words hold the slightest edge on them.

Minhyuk looks at him weirdly, but Kihyun just smiles back at him.

Not a second later, Kihyun lets out a plethora of compliments about Minhyuk, most of them about Minhyuk’s famous smile. All Minhyuk could do was laugh and playfully scold Kihyun on how cheesy he was being. But Kihyun doesn’t back down and soon takes over Minhyuk’s talkative role for the vlive, doing nothing but give Minhyuk praises. Kihyun rarely looks away when he was talking because he wants to have Minhyuk sincerely know that he has nothing to be insecure about.

And for the night, it worked as Minhyuk smiles brighter than the moon and stars that were observable from their hotel room’s window. Kihyun can’t help but feel proud when sees that the comments that were flooding in were all about Minhyuk as well, admirations and love galore.

“You guys are too much! Kihyun usually just insults me during vlives, too, it's all so weird!” Minhyuk giggles out, sweater paws shielding his blushing face.

Kihyun releases his hold on Minhyuk’s knee and instead throws his arm around the younger’s shoulders, not hesitating to pull him fully closer so that his weight rests on Kihyun’s side. He then presses his soft cheek on top of the other’s hair before nuzzling it tenderly.

“And you should know that we can never have too much of your smile, Minhyuk.”

Minhyuk lowers his hands a bit, his brown eyes the only thing that was visible, and throws a cheeky look to Kihyun. But the younger instantly recognizes the gratitude and the affection behind it, and he can’t help but give a wide smile himself.

And so the night goes on, Minhyuk smiling and laughing a little brighter than when the vlive started. And Kihyun plans to keep him that way even long after the vlive ends.

 

 

 

_3\. Kihyun’s odd but well-loved relationship with Minhyuk is usually full of smiles and laughs, but he hates it when he realizes too late at how far he crosses the line sometimes._

 

To the public, his and Minhyuk’s relationship is a classic frenemies dynamic. They bicker a lot, try to out-sass the other, and even would go as far as harmless insults. But there are unspoken boundaries set in place that they know they shouldn’t break; everything should be said in the right mood, situation, and timing.

Both Minhyuk and Kihyun rarely dares to break that silent agreement, they were even more careful the moment they started to date. But there are a handful of times when one did, even if it wasn’t intentional.

The seven boys and their manager are riding a company van that is en route back to their dorm. They just finished up an interview segment of a well-known show. As usual, Minhyuk and Kihyun got into their casual banter that had the emcees and the group laughing all throughout. Kihyun is pleased that their off-screen chemistry translates very well on-screen, too.

It’s late into the night and Kihyun rests his head against the window, the only thing audible in the vehicle was the slight snores from his other members. Minhyuk was sitting next to him and he sees that the other was occupied with his phone—Kihyun chuckles under his breath at the obvious attachment Minhyuk has for the device—ear buds neatly tucked in his ears as the phone illuminates his mask-covered face.

Still buzzing from the playfulness earlier, Kihyun thinks of bugging Minhyuk again but the latter’s eyes were particularly focused on his phone’s screen. Kihyun decides to wait until they arrive back home before making any more jabs.

After two hours, the boys finally set foot in their dorm. Jooheon makes a bee line towards the bathroom, wanting to freshen up as fast as he can so that he is able to sleep peacefully as soon as possible. The other members opt to wait for their turn in their respective rooms, except for Minhyuk and Kihyun.

The two enter the dorm last before quietly making their way to the kitchen. Minhyuk plops down on one of the chairs, placing his face mask, phone, and earphones onto the table as Kihyun hustles about to get a mug for himself and a small kettle.

“Are you making tea? Can you make me some, too?”

Kihyun raises his eyebrow at the request, finding it a bit strange that the coffee fanatic of the group wants tea. But he doesn’t voice out his curiosity as he gets another mug before preparing some hot water.

“When did you grow up and start drinking tea? Or are you just ready to spill the tea, as it were, for round two after the interview?” Kihyun quips, secretly delighted that he was able to use some of their fans’ lingo.

Minhyuk makes an unidentifiable noise as a response, and that peaks Kihyun’s interest.

“Did you seriously just tire yourself out from talking the whole day?”

“I’m human, Kihyun. I get tired, too.” Minhyuk murmurs.

“Are you sure? Humans need to breathe in between talking, so clearly, you’re not.” Kihyun teases, looking for a box of tea bags he purchased a week ago in one of their kitchen cabinets.

“Yeah, yeah, I know.”

Kihyun turns back around and studies Minhyuk, who is blankly staring at his phone. He narrows his eyes at the other for a lack of a comeback. Though this was rather odd coming from Minhyuk, Kihyun continues with the banter, not noticing that it was slowly becoming one-sided.

“Being quiet and selective when it comes to human interaction is Hyungwon’s thing, you know?”

All Kihyun gets is a nod, not even a scoff or a whine. He pours hot water in the two mugs he prepared before dropping a tea bag in each. He carries one in each hand before walking towards Minhyuk, setting the other’s mug down on the table.

“Who are you and what have you done with Minhyuk?” Kihyun smirks, already gauging the other’s reaction. “Then again, you can keep him at wherever you’re hiding him. It’ll be nice to have some peace and quiet now—"

“I get it, okay, I’m loud! Can you just shut up now?” Minhyuk exclaims, looking up with a fiery glare in his eyes.

Kihyun is surprised at the other’s sudden outburst, so much so that he actually takes a step back in slight fear. But the fear diminishes when Kihyun narrows his eyes at his the older.

“What the hell, Minhyuk?” Kihyun asked, his voice raising just a tad bit.

“I get it!” Minhyuk repeats, and Kihyun senses the genuine irritation in his voice. “I’m a loud mouth and it annoys everyone around me. I don’t need to hear it from my own members, alright?”

“It was just a joke, calm down—”

“Yeah well I’m damn sure everyone means it!” Minhyuk stands up, chair almost falling behind him before he stomps off, his mug left untouched.

Kihyun stares at Minhyuk’s retreating figure in shock. There is a sinking feeling in his heart while dread settles in his stomach. He looks down at the floor, realization dawning upon him.

He went too far, and he feels incredibly shitty about it.

He takes two cautious steps at first but does a double take at Minhyuk’s abandoned phone and steaming mug of tea. He looks carefully at the phone’s screen and sees that it was left on and unlocked.

Kihyun’s curiosity gets the better of him yet again as he picks up Minhyuk’s phone. He notices that the phone was left on an opened YouTube app. Carefully scanning the screen, Kihyun recognizes the video paused on the app. It was a video of their group from a show that was released a few weeks ago, their most recent broadcast appearance before the one they attended today.

Kihyun tilts his head in confusion, trying to figure out why Minhyuk was on this exact video. He scrolls down past the suggested videos and arrives at the comments section. And what he reads almost breaks his heart.

_They’re a funny, good-looking group! But who’s the noisy one?_

_That’s Minhyuk! He’s the talkative, outgoing one! He’s my fave :)_

_Really? You can stand that amount of talking?_

_minhyuk should let the others talk! he’s stealing the others’ screen time :c_

_idk but that guy who kept talking on and on is just too much. borderline annoying._

_right? it’s like he’s just made up of lungs. and useless ones, too…_

_his laugh is very annoying too_

_too loud, too talkative, too happy. just too annoying lol_

_god ss actually let that guy be in an idol group???_

_How can people actually love this Minhyuk guy he’s so—_

Kihyun stops reading when he realizes he might actually break Minhyuk’s phone at how tight his death grip is. He is seething in anger at these people. How can anyone say something so cruel about him? Minhyuk maybe loud at times but he never finds it annoying—

A cold chill works down Kihyun’s spine as he makes sense of why Minhyuk is mad at him, or just mad in general. He feels guilty for worsening Minhyuk’s bad mood like that. And he knows that him not knowing about his bad mood isn’t an excuse for his words and actions.

He leaves Minhyuk’s phone back on the table—closing the app and turning it off for good measure—and grabs Minhyuk’s now lukewarm tea. He leaves the dining area in hopes that he catches Minhyuk still up, or just not being locked from his shared room with the other.

Lucky enough, he finds Minhyuk sitting in the living room, his body wrapped up from a spare blanket that Kihyun keeps behind one of the couch’s pillows. Kihyun hears silent footsteps and sees from the corner of his eye Hyunwoo looking at Minhyuk in concern. The leader, who stands by the door of his shared room, shifts his gaze to Kihyun. There’s a questioning gaze in his eyes, quietly asking what was all the commotion about.

Kihyun just shakes his head and smiles slightly, silently telling the older that he can handle this.

With an assured nod, Hyunwoo slips back into his room, closing the door with a noiseless click.

Taking a deep breath, Kihyun calmly walks towards Minhyuk. He leaves both mugs on the small table in front of the couch before sitting next to his upset boyfriend. He makes sure not to sit too close as he tucks his legs underneath him.

“Minhyuk?” Kihyun whispers, not wanting to cause another outburst. “I’m sorry.”

The other didn’t move an inch, but Kihyun takes it as a good sign. At least he isn’t completely shutting him off by leaving again.

“I didn’t mean to go too far. I didn’t know…” Kihyun trails off, unsure of how to proceed. Squaring his shoulders, he decides to be straightforward instead. “You shouldn’t listen to them, you know?”

Minhyuk stiffens at Kihyun’s words, and the latter couldn’t help but frown at that.

Kihyun reaches out and threads his hand through Minhyuk’s soft hair, gaining the other’s attention. “Hey, it’s just me.”

He quietly observes Minhyuk’s blank façade slowly crack, eyes turning glassy and his lips quivering. He pulls Minhyuk closer to him as a reflex, letting the other’s head rest on his shoulder. The moment he feels a single drop landing on his sleeve, Kihyun throws his other arm around Minhyuk and cradles the boy in his arms, kissing any available space his lips can reach: Minhyuk's fringe, the top of his ear, his cheekbone, his eyebrow, and his temple.

“Ki…” Minhyuk sniffles out.

“Don’t listen to them. We love your happy and loud self. We love you for you. And you know that I love you more than anyone could. Don’t let them take away your smile and your laugh. I’ll beat their ass for you if they do.”

Kihyun smiles when Minhyuk gives out a teary laugh, a little muffled from hiding his face in Kihyun’s shoulder. “You’re too short to beat other people up.”

Kihyun chuckles along with Minhyuk, pulling back before placing his hands on Minhyuk’s cheeks. He wipes away the stray tears with his thumbs before kissing the spots where they used to be. “Then we’ll double team them, yeah? I’ll get up on your shoulders and you’ll probably just do most of the work.”

Minhyuk nods in amusement, eyes and smile now gleaming in mirth. He ruffles his own hair before reaching over to ruffle Kihyun’s, in which the later smacks away the hand with a laugh.

Kihyun can get away with making fun of Minhyuk, but once someone else does it, he’s ready to fight. At least he can still make Minhyuk smile and laugh after.

 

 

 

 

_++ bonus_

 

Kihyun drags his feet on the dorm's squeaky clean floor. He just finished cleaning the kitchen and washing the dishes and now feels the weight of the day on his body. They were up bright and early for a recording session for their next comeback, then they were swiftly brought to their album jacket photoshoot, next they spent hours and hours for their dance practice, and with barely enough time to get ready, their manager drove him for a radio appearance as a special DJ. The moment he got home, he proceeds to do a number of housework because his other members were out on their own schedules. He wouldn't want them to come home to a mess, he just can't.

He knows that they all trust him to keep everything together. He knows that they see him as a strong person, and he didn't wanna disappoint them.

He is used to the exhaustion, he is an idol after all, but something about today made it worse than before. He feels it physically, mentally, and emotionally. 

Something about today breaks Kihyun's usually sturdy walls, that even the tears that he usually can hold in are now streaming down his face.

Kihyun stands in the middle of his group's dorm, sobbing softly as he feels his world slowly crumble one piece at a time.

He cries harder when a familiar pair of arms embrace him, a soft shushing sound was by his ear. He doesn't hesitate to wrap his arms around the other's torso, melting himself deeper into the other's body.

A hand pats his hair lovingly before Kihyun hears a whisper, "I'm here, Ki, I got you." 

Kihyun stays in their embrace for a few minutes or for a few hours, he couldn't tell, all he knows is that he wants to stay in that position for as long as he can.

But he doesn't get it when the other pulls away, revealing Minhyuk with gentle smile on his face. 

"Whe—When did you come back?" Kihyun hiccups.

Minhyuk lifts his hand to wipe away the younger's tears. "About half an hour before you arrived, I think. I was already asleep but woke up to the sound of you crying."

Kihyun looks down, ashamed that he disturbed his boyfriend's sleep. "I'm sorry, you go back to bed. I'll be sleeping in a while anyways."

"Nope, I'm not leaving you like this. Come on, let's get you cleaned up before we go back to my bed."

Kihyun lets Minhyuk lead him to the bathroom, not really having enough strength to fight him off anymore.

He allows Minhyuk to take care of him, watching him grab a small, white towel that was neatly folded by the sink. Minhyuk quickly wets the towel and squeezes out the excess water before wiping and dabbing Kihyun's face with it. The younger patiently stands where he was, receiving a kiss to each of his eyelids when Minhyuk was done.

After a few minutes, Kihyun finds himself in his shared room with Minhyuk, Jooheon, and Changkyun, dressed in his comfiest sleeping shorts and a shirt that he's sure is owned by Minhyuk.

Kihyun gets pulled by Minhyuk to join him in his bed and automatically curls into the older's taller frame. He wraps his free arm around Minhyuk's shoulder while the older pulls him closer by the waist, their legs entangling together.

"You feeling better?"

"Yeah, a little." Kihyun whispers, eyes slowly drooping closed from sharing Minhyuk's body heat.

"A little is good enough for tonight."

"Hey, Minhyuk?"

Kihyun receives a kiss on the forehead and a quiet hum as a response.

"Thank you."

"You're welcome. Even if you feel like you need to take care of all of us, remember that you need to be taken care of, too."

Minhyuk hits the mark as usual, and Kihyun feels a new batch of tears stinging in his eyes.

"It's okay to feel tired, my love. You have me to take care of you, you can trust me on that."

Kihyun just nods, and he knows that that's enough for Minhyuk. He feels the older shift around a bit, and when he opens his eyes he sees that they were now completely face to face.

"I love you."

The declaration is quiet, pure. It's perfect to Kihyun's ears.

Kihyun feels his breath hitch when Minhyuk presses his lips onto his, moving and gliding at a loving pace.

Kihyun reciprocates almost immediately, savoring every moment that passes as they kiss the night away, in the arms of the ones they love the most.

He remembers the smile he gives to Minhyuk right before the older sleeps, and he knows that it's the smile that Minhyuk favors the most.

**Author's Note:**

> i know, i know, i have no concept of having a consistent writing style. i think it just depends on my mood and/or the mood of the fic lol
> 
> kudos, comments, and constructive criticisms are welcomed and appreciated! you may also reach me via twitter: @kihyukssi. thank you!


End file.
